Selecting representative reviews for display

Abstract

A method and system of selecting reviews for display are described. Reviews for a subject are identified and an overall rating for the subject is determined. A subset of the identified reviews is selected based on the rating range in which the overall rating falls. The selection may also be based on zero or more other predefined criteria. A response that includes content from the selected reviews is generated. The content may include the full content or snippets of at least some of the selected reviews.

1 . A method of processing reviews, comprising: 
 identifying a set of reviews from one or more review sources;    determining an overall rating score with respect to the set of reviews;    identifying one of a plurality of rating ranges corresponding to the overall rating score;    selecting a subset of the reviews based on at least the identified rating range; and    generating a response including content from the selected subset.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein selecting comprises selecting a subset of the reviews including reviews associated with high ratings scores if the identified rating range is a high range.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein selecting comprises selecting a subset of the reviews including reviews associated with low ratings scores if the identified rating range is a low range.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein selecting comprises selecting a subset of the reviews including reviews associated with high rating scores and reviews associated with low rating scores if the identified rating range is a middle range.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining an overall rating score comprises: 
 identifying one or more aggregated rating scores from the review sources; and    determining an overall rating score based on the aggregated rating scores and respective numbers of reviews of the set of reviews included in each review source.    
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating a response comprises generating snippets of a plurality of reviews in the selected subset.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein generating a snippet of a review comprises: 
 partitioning the review into one or more partitions;    selecting a subset of the partitions based on predefined criteria; and    generating the snippet including content from the selected subset of the partitions.    
     
     
         8 . A system for processing reviews, comprising: 
 one or more modules including instructions: 
 to identify a set of reviews from one or more review sources;  
 to determine an overall rating score with respect to the set of reviews;  
 to identify one of a plurality of rating ranges corresponding to the overall rating score;  
 to select a subset of the reviews based on at least the identified rating range; and  
 to generate a response including content from the selected subset.  
   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the one or more modules include instructions to select a subset of the reviews including reviews associated with high ratings scores if the identified rating range is a high range.  
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the one or more modules include instructions to select a subset of the reviews including reviews associated with low ratings scores if the identified rating range is a low range.  
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the one or more modules include instructions to select a subset of the reviews including reviews associated with high rating scores and reviews associated with low rating scores if the identified rating range is a middle range.  
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the one or more modules include instructions: 
 to identify one or more aggregated rating scores from the review sources; and    to determine an overall rating score based on the aggregated rating scores and respective numbers of reviews of the set of reviews included in each review source.    
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the one or more modules include instructions to generate snippets of a plurality of reviews in the selected subset.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more modules include instructions: 
 to partition the review into one or more partitions;    to select a subset of the partitions based on predefined criteria; and    to generate the snippet including content from the selected subset of the partitions.    
     
     
         15 . A computer program product for use in conjunction with a computer system, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium and a computer program mechanism embedded therein, the computer program mechanism comprising instructions for: 
 identifying a set of reviews from one or more review sources;    determining an overall rating score with respect to the set of reviews;    identifying one of a plurality of rating ranges corresponding to the overall rating score;    selecting a subset of the reviews based on at least the identified rating range; and    generating a response including content from the selected subset.    
     
     
         16 . The computer program product of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions for identifying an average rating score comprise instructions for: 
 identifying one or more aggregated rating scores from the review sources; and    determining an overall rating score based on the aggregated rating scores and respective numbers of reviews of the set of reviews included in each review source.    
     
     
         17 . The computer program product of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions for generating a response comprise instructions for generating snippets of a plurality of reviews in the selected subset.  
     
     
         18 . The computer program product of  claim 17 , wherein the instructions for generating a snippet of a review comprise instructions for: 
 partitioning the review into one or more partitions;    selecting a subset of the partitions based on predefined criteria; and    generating the snippet including content from the selected subset of the partitions.    
     
     
         19 . A system for processing reviews, comprising: 
 means for identifying a set of reviews from one or more review sources;    means for determining an overall rating score with respect to the set of reviews;    means for identifying one of a plurality of rating ranges corresponding to the overall rating score;    means for selecting a subset of the reviews based on at least the identified rating range; and    means for generating a response including content from the selected subset.